Mr. Ronca is a truck accident attorney with over 20 years of legal experience. He has twice been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer.

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Trucking Industry Rules and Regulations, Q&A

Ask Jim Ronca, Truck Accident Lawyer, Pennsylvania and New Jersey

How do we research what regulations apply to the trucking industry?

The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) lists rules and regulations pertaining to anything and everything such as noise emission standards, routing, drug and alcohol limitations, size regulations, processing salvage, damage claim dispositions, and much more. Check out http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/fmcsrguide.asp

Do trucking companies have to be approved for any safety compliance?
Yes. A Satisfactory safety rating is based on the degree of compliance with the safety fitness standard for motor carriers. For intrastate motor carriers subject to the hazardous materials, the motor carrier must meet the equivalent State requirements. To meet the safety fitness standard, the motor carrier must demonstrate it has adequate safety management controls in place, to ensure acceptable compliance with applicable safety requirements to reduce the risks.

What about all those Mexican trucks? What kind of monitoring is the United States doing?
Each Mexico-domiciled carrier operating in the United States is subject to an oversight program to monitor its compliance and is subject to intensified monitoring through frequent roadside inspections. These carriers must have a CVSA decal attesting to a satisfactory inspection. The FMCSA will conduct safety and compliance audits.

Are truckers subject to drug and alcohol testing?

Yes. Drug and alcohol testing is required for safety-sensitive transportation employees in aviation, trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines and other transportation industries. The Department of Transportation (DOT) publishes rules on who must conduct drug and alcohol tests; how to conduct those tests; and what procedures to use when testing.

What are considered hazardous materials and how does the trucking industry handle HM?

Hazardous material is substances that may pose a threat to public safety or the environment during transportation, because of their physical, chemical, or radioactive properties. Radioactive, toxic, infectious, or corrosive hazardous material can have short- or long-term exposure effects on humans or the environment. Environmental damage or contamination exists when packages of hazardous material are involved in crashes or en route incidents resulting from cargo shifts, valve failures, package failures, or loading, unloading, or handling problems. Accidental releases of hazardous material can result in explosions or fires.

There are considerable guidelines for handling hazardous materials. Please consult the HM guidelines.http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov

Can you recommend any other helpful web sites?

Here are a few more to research:

The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS)
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/Index-2005LargeTruckCrashFacts.htm

Motor Carrier Management Information System – MCMIS
http://mcmiscatalog.fmcsa.dot.gov/documentation/csp/profile_contents.asp

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (known as STAA)
http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/acts/staa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Transportation_Assistance_Act

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR.) [49 C.F.R. §392.14]
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguide.htm

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